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The Seaside Ghost
Plot Arthur and Nicholas work at the Fishing Village on the Norramby Branch Line. Nicholas unloads the fish while Arthur takes it to Kellsthorpe Road, where the fish is loaded on the Flying Kipper. But one day, the Fat Controller had wanted Arthur to help at Brendam. "I have to go help at Brendam Docks," said Arthur to Nicholas, "You keep loading that fish." "Right!" agreed Nicholas as Arthur puffed away. It was a misty day, so Arthur had a lamp fitted. Soon Arthur arrived at the Docks to help shunt. Cranky was loading Porter's flatbeds of timber. "These are for Hank, correct?" said Porter. "Yes, now get a move on." grumbled Cranky. Porter did so as Arthur puffed under Cranky. "Ugh, my least favorite thing: fish," sighed Cranky. "Come now, it's not bad. Nicholas loves fish," said Arthur. Cranky ignored him and started to load the fish. Salty oiled over. "Would you like something to do while you're waiting for old Cranky?" he asked hopefully. Arthur smiled fondly. "Oh yes please. It seems that Cranky's gonna take a while." Salty chuckled. "Well... argh, alright then sailor. Let's start one of me stories. This one's a ghost story. Kinda fits the fog, doesn't it?" Arthur murmured in agreement. Cranky sighed; the last time Salty told a ghost story, everybody went scared over flatbeds, and another time Mavis was scared out of her mind. Salty began his story. "Once at the Fishing Village, an engine was delivering a fish train that was extremely heavy... About twenty trucks.... The tracks weren't well-built and crumpled under the engine's weight. The engine slided along the beach and splashed into the sea..." Salty paused for some atmosphere. Cranky stopped loading. Porter stopped shunting. Even Hank, who was puffing into the Docks, stopped. The whole Docks seemed to freeze in time. Salty shunted some trucks and continued. "The crew survived but they never found the tank engine... They still say that every foggy night, the engine whistles and wheeshes steam throughout the railway, as a warning. Some say he speaks. They say he says, 'Don't do what I did... Or you'll be in trouble.'" Salty suddenly turned light-hearted again. "And that's the story! Did you like it?" Cranky said nothing, but rolled his eyes. Porter gulped. "Salty... That was dark! Where'd you hear that?" Salty chuckled. "Oh, nowhere. Just a thing with us dockyard Diesels knowing everything." "I don't wanna go out now," gulped Hank. "Don't be scaredy engines," teased Arthur, "it's fine." The engines stared. Salty lowered his voice. "When any engine doesn't believe his story... He shows them himself..." Arthur turned white. "That happened to me," continued Salty, "I was honestly scarred." Hank looked to Porter. Arthur's face was as white as the clouds above the fog. "Just a simple warning, me heartys. Now get some more fish Arthur." said Salty. Arthur was afraid, but decided to go anyway. "What utter nonsense," said Arthur's driver, "Ghosts don't exist." "Nonsense?! I don't want him to hear you!" gasped Arthur and he listened. His crew listened. Even the vans listened, but they heard nothing. "Arthur's scared of a story! Arthur's scared of a silly story!" giggled a van. The vans laughed as Arthur went pale as he approached the Fishing Village. When he saw the bright neon lights of the town, he felt much better. "What happened?" asked Nicholas, "You look as white as that boat over there." Arthur didn't reply. A big boat came into the dock. "Ahoy there!" called the captain, "Just going to load this fish!" The workmen loaded the fish into the vans. Arthur politely waited for a guard's whistle, but was surprised to find nothing. "That's odd," he said out loud, "Shouldn't the guard be here now?" "I don't know," replied Nicholas. Arthur's driver looked back and saw a light. "Yeah, but I do see another engine coming. Maybe he can tell us." The engine went faster and faster, and it seemed as though it were to crash into Arthur. Nicholas gasped. "Stop you fool!" cried Arthur and shut his eyes for impact, but suddenly... WHOOSH. The engine disappeared. Everyone was shocked. Then they heard a frantic whistle, a splash, and finally a voice. "Don't do what I did, or you'll be in trouble..." it said. Arthur was paler than ever, and the fishermen as well as Nicholas were shaken. "Cranking crane arms..." said Nicholas quietly. Arthur dropped off the fish at Kellsthorpe Road. Henry was there waiting with some vans. "I'm just preparing for tonight," he explained, then noticed Arthur's paleness. "What got into you?" asked Henry. Arthur stuttered, "Um, nothing." Henry wasn't so sure as he puffed away. When Arthur came back to the Docks while Nicholas waited for the new boat, Paxton was arriving with his usual stone train. "Hello Arthur!" tooted Paxton, "What's wrong? You look all pale for some reason." Arthur said nothing; he just puffed aside. "You look as if you saw a ghost," commented a workman. "We d-d-did," stammered the driver. The workman was surprised. "Really? Where?" "At the Fishing Village," responded the fireman. "You mean the one with the engine who fell into the sea? ...oh yes, I saw it once. Terrifying sight. But I've gotten over it." Arthur grew some of his color back when he saw cheerful Paxton's smile; Paxton didn't hear the conversation between the driver and the workman. "So what did happen?" asked Paxton. Arthur turned pale again. "It was horrible... A ghost engine, a whistle, a splash, and then the scariest voice I ever heard..." Paxton was confused. "Ghosts? Are you sure?" "Yes!" exclaimed Arthur. Porter chuffed over. "I still think it's not real. My driver said a ghost was on a television show called, 'Sodor's Paranormal Activity.' It looked spooky to him. But one of the ghosts was the one in the Fishing VIllage... Turns out it had a movie based off it. He told me all about it" Salty chuckled awkwardly, trying to light the mood. "I have some good news about the ghost. It leaves you alone when you believe in the story!" The engines didn't believe him though, for they could tell Salty just made that part up. Salty gulped, noticing the glares he got. "It's time to go back to Nicholas," said the driver worriedly, and Arthur puffed away. "Be careful," warned Porter. Arthur puffed past Neville on the way back, but he didn't whistle; he was too much in thought. He did indeed believe in the story now, as did the trucks and his crew. So he decided to see if the ghost would show up again. At the Fishing Village, Arthur puffed up to find a barrier across the line. "The place is closed for now," explained a fisherman, "We can't risk ghosts popping up everywhere." Suddenly, WHOOSH. The wind blew, the whistle sounded and the engine was now in front of Arthur, but there was something a bit different. He didn't look as angry as last time; he actually looked scared. Arthur didn't know what to do. "Um, uh, what am I supposed to say?" "I don't know, just get it out of here!" cried Nicholas, "That thing's freaky!" "Oh now I got it!" Arthur began. "Little engine, we've all had bad accidents from time to time. Some are fatal and others are not. Maybe you didn't make it out alive, but you still have the opportunity to move on. Not many engines have the wit and skill to do so, but I think you may." Arthur breathed, then started again. "The past is in the past, I'm afraid. Unless you have a time machine, it won't work, and time machines are unlikely to be made. Sorry, um, scary... ghost, but there is some good out of it; you will never have an accident again. You can't hurt yourself anymore. You can just forget about it. Alright?" The ghost looked at Arthur. Then, WHOOSH. It disappeared. "D-d-did it work?" asked Nicholas. "I think so," said Arthur, but he wasn't entirely sure as he heard a faint splash in the distance. The ghost hasn't really moved on; it still rattles over bridges and scares the engines at night, whistling in terror. They always see the engine, but they noticed the splash and the voice are now gone. Nobody really knew why the change occured, except Arthur. Characters *Henry *Salty *Arthur *Hank *Paxton *Porter *Cranky *Nicholas *Neville (does not speak) *Billy (cameo) *Flora (cameo) *Mavis (mentioned) *The Fat Controller (mentioned) Trivia *References to the eighteenth season episode Flatbeds of Fear and Mavis and the Track Repairs are made. Category:Sodor Adventures